Camomile, a Date from the Past
by Aqua Alta
Summary: In a winter morning, Nanashi, MAR Heaven's infamous gentleman which title is given by and to himself, sees her, a ghost from his past, a mere memory.  But..., sometimes remembering is not a bad thing either.


_Camomile, a Date from the Past_

**Author's Note**

**After the hiatus, suddenly I receive this idea (from somewhere). How surprising…. I was thinking about all MÄR characters when suddenly one caught my attention. Nanashi. Well, this is my first attempt of writing him as the main character, so flame me with all you might. **

**Disclaimer****: I never own MÄR and I never say so.**

Just like a ghost in the middle of the winter, he saw her standing there, laughing under the falling snow as she walked side by side with a young man probably two or three years older than her, a handsome specimen no lesswith dark hair and pale skin. As the couple strolled by him, Nanashi could not help but stare.

'_For the love of God!'_ he shouted inwardly, immediately turning on his heels (which were buried an inch deep in the snow; luckily he was wearing his ever-so-loyal just-for-winter boots). His long hair swayed due to the momentum and slapped his neck, yet he could not care less as he, trying to look as casual as he could, walked right behind the couple, keeping a safe distance in order not arouse suspicion.

Nanashi, as the leader of Luberia, as one of the members of the famous MÄR in the Second War Game a year ago, as the biggest playboy and gentleman MÄR Heaven had ever known (the title was given _by and to himself_), always had a rough time whenever it came to remembering the names of the girls he had _and_ was going out with. Plain impossible to remember all those chicks' names, he once told a friend.

Yet there was a slight lie in that statement. Nanashi could not remember girls' names (aside from his dear friends in MÄR, of course), all of them but _Cam_. Camomile.

And there she was, laughing happily, blushing in the beautiful winter morning, with someone special no less!

She was there. Several metres away from him. Several mere metres.

His steps suddenly stopped. All of his intentions of following the couple (just out of curiosity, mind you) vaporized into the air, becoming puffs that were billowing from between his lips.

As he changed direction, a gay bounce entered his steps, and he stuffed his hands deep in his trousers' pockets.

She was happy. And he was happy.

**XXX**

Their short story was one of the rare serious relationships Nanashi had ever built. It was around two years ago, when he was a mere young lad and she was merely fourteen, a young maid in her family's café. And he was one of the café's regular customers.

He first noticed her when she was having trouble with one of the burly men in the café, although calling her as the one who was in trouble was an unforgivable injustice. The man was trying to seduce her, ignoring her blatant ignorance and even rejection. In the end, the man got rougher, and shewith unexpected simplicity and placiditycalled out her ÄRM without further warnings.

"Guardian ÄRM, Lluvia."

How could he forget such a beautiful scene? She was standing, surrounded with silver bullets of water, amidst the silver rain which did not even touch the strands of her hair. The man was knocked flat out onto the floor, pierced with _water_. Her technique was incredible. Her calmness was unexpected. Yet the most _unexpected_ thing arrived later, for she took out a Holy ÄRM and healed the man from the various wounds inflected by her ÄRM briskly, before stepping away with utmost sobriety and continuing with her chores. She immediately received a standing applause from the whole customers and waiters witnessing the scene, andto Nanashi's further amazementshe bowed and winked cheerfully.

Not wanting to see her walking away as the public's attention dispersed from her, he immediately called out to her, "Waitress."

Her eyes turned to himsharp aquamarine they were. God, she was beautiful, and that was all he could think. Physically she was just a young teen, not yet fully blossomed, yet there was certain strength and sharpness within her slim and limber figure, as if shouting: "Beware. Try to fool me and take your payment."

"Do you have any special recommendations?" he asked, trying his best to arrange his posture as a casual one. "I have been here for several times, yet never once I know the real speciality of this café."

She shrugged, her eyes telling him that she thought him and his question foolish. He nearly blushed, yet caught himself right in time. "Well, sir, why don't you try our cafe au lait?" she snorted, close to laughing _at him_. It was as if she had been telling him: "You should have better advances than this."

Nanashi smiled, this time being honest. There was no special flirting for this girl. The only thing which could enter her heart was honesty. "I really adore it, I assure you," he said quietly. "But…, do you have anything else in mind?"

The girl gave him a strange look, as if scrutinizing him. Then she threw him a haughty smile. "Wait for a minute, sir," she said, taking away his menu with her.

The minute felt like an eternity. One minute and twenty seconds later, she arrived with a steaming cup of foreign tea, the scenthe rememberedsoothing, calming, a pleasant fragrance that very nearly brought him into a trance. His eyes never left the cup as it glided from her hands onto his table.

She smiled, a faint smile, yet a smile nonetheless. Not to mention a pleasant one, of real affection and pleasure. "Camomile," she spoke. "It is rare in MÄR, for the flowers are rare. I apologize if your bill have to take quite an increase today. But I assure you, as the only café which serves camomile tea in this region, ours is heavenly."

His mind, not quite rearranged, he nodded dumbly, still in half-stupor, his thoughts floating within silver rain, softly spoken words, and the fragrance of the unknown tea.

"It is also my name," the girl added, and his senses immediately returned. He threw her a sharp look, questioning, one look of confusion.

She chuckled warmly. "Nice to meet you, sir. Call me Cam, from Camomile."

**XXX**

Nanashi was not well known as a playboy for his slow moves. His were always impulsive (and he defended himself by saying that that was what the girls seemed to like the most). At the end of his second meeting with Camomile, he asked the girl out. She gave a shrug, and casually replied that he could ask her out only if he could win over her in an ÄRM battle.

It was the most surprising answer a girl had ever given him. And he took it as a challenge with utmost pleasure.

Only to add his further surprise, Cam did not only wield with more techniques than him, but that she was as impulsive as him. On their battle (which was done in a field near the forest where no one ever stepped on and covered with snow), her untied hairlong as it is and reaching her waistseemed to disturb her concentration and sight. She asked to pause the fight andwithout even asking permissiontook Nanashi's Dagger ÄRM and used it to hack away those long, midnight strands, leaving her hair cropped short barely past her ears. She might look messy, but to him she was glowing even more. Her pale skin had the splendour of the sun's brightness, not due to confinement beneath the roof or fear of getting tanned, and her cherry lips were childish and seductive in the same time.

Nanashiwho prided himself for having seen the most beautiful women in MÄR Heavenfound this girl as nothing to compare with them, and yet she was altogether more ethereal, more alluring.

The battle ended with Nanashi as the winner, yet he doubted he could win if she did not lack stamina. Her magical stamina, unfortunately, was relatively little. However, the way she manipulated her water Guardian, Lluvia, as bullets of water drops was still the most fascinating thing he had ever seen until now.

It was still clear in his memory how she expressed her dislike of her own lack of stamina by kicking the snow and cursing deftly under her breath. Yet when he asked whether she wanted to go out with him or not, she replied with a warm smile.

"Yeah."

The time they spent together was as heavenly as the camomile tea she served him. She was as hot-headed as him, and he was as full-spirited as her. They matched each other perfectly, despite the small arguments they had sometimes, usually concerning differences of opinions. Somehow, this time, he managed to stay just with one girl. For Nanashi, this was more MÄR-shattering than the fact that aliens had inhabited MÄR.

He loved her, and so did she.

**XXX**

One day, the tragedy occurred like a lightning tearing through a bright summer day.

He arrived at her café only to find it thoroughly destroyed, merely rubbles and pieces. People were surrounding someone, someone standing amidst the remnants…. There were hushes…. _"The Chess destroyed this café…. Its owners refused to let their daughter to join The Chess…." "Who would have thought Cam's strength would be heard by Chess? Now her parents are dead…." "One of the Chess Pieces used an ÄRM on her…." "A Darkness ÄRM…." "Memory…." "Lost…."_

His roar drowned out other people's murmurs. "CAM!"

Eyes were directed at him, and some recognized him immediately. The crowd parted for him, serving the sight he had been fearing the most.

She was there, standing, unscathed aside from a slight scratch on her right cheek, her eyes as blank pools instead of the usual aquamarine flames. He approached her with a stumble and disbelief, feeling the rage building up like a newborn monster within his soul. Gently he tipped her face so that she faced him fully. Her complexion was pale, so pale that it rivalled one of a corpse. "Cam…," he whispered, pleading with all his heart so that the worst would not happen; he prayed to God for that with all his might, pleading and begging on his knees.

The God was not on his side.

"Who are you?"

**XXX**

Nanashi grinned at the memory, a rueful grin, as he kicked at the snow on his feet the way she kicked it when she lost her battle long time ago. He sighed, looked up to the bright white sky, and smiled.

'_How long has it been since the last time I tasted camomile tea?'_

And that was when a beautiful blond girl caught his eyes, her lone figure leaning on the wall, a miserable look painted across her pretty features….

'_Hell, she's hot….'_

What was he waiting for? A gentleman should not let such a pretty thing sad! Therefore, Nanashi scampered toward the girl, a wide smirk on his lips.

'_She is happy.'_

So what did he want from her?

'_Nothing. She is happy. And that is enough, for I am happy.'_

**XXX**

**Strange? OOC? Critic me all you want!**

_Aqua Alta_


End file.
